Translation commentary on John 7:1

After this translates the phrase first discussed in 2.12. See there.

Traveled (Revised Standard Version, New English Bible “went about”; Jerusalem Bible “stayed”) translates a verb tense denoting customary action. The same verb is used in 6.66 and 11.54 with essentially the same meaning that it has here. An appropriate equivalent for traveled may be “went from place to place in Galilee” or “visited one place after another in Galilee.” In employing a verb for traveled it is important to indicate that Jesus did not merely walk from one place to another but that he visited the people in place after place. The same expression for visiting town after town should be employed in the following clause, which refers to similar travel in Judea.

He did not want to travel in Judea represents the Greek text followed by most modern translations (see Revised Standard Version, New English Bible, New American Bible, Phillips, Moffatt, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Jerusalem Bible (“he could not stay in Judea”) follows the reading of other manuscripts, and it is doubtless the more difficult reading. One can see why a scribe would change from this reading to that followed in most other translations, but it is difficult to see why the change would be made in the other direction. However, the UBS Committee on the Greek text feels that the manuscript evidence in support of the reading followed by Good News Translation and most other translations outweighs any other considerations.

Jewish authorities is literally “Jews.” See Appendix I for a full discussion.

Were wanting to kill him is translated in different ways. New English Bible reads “were looking for a chance to kill him” (so also New American Bible) while Jerusalem Bible has “were out to kill him.” Phillips’ level of language, “were planning to take his life,” is rather high.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on John 7:1

Section 7:1–9

Jesus’ brothers did not believe in him

Every year Jewish men went to Jerusalem to celebrate the festival of Booths. Jesus’ brothers told him that he should go, but he did not want to go at that time. They thought that he should show himself to the world, but they did not believe in him.

Here are some other possible section headings:

Jesus’ brothers want him to go to the festival in Jerusalem
-or-
The unbelief of Jesus’ brothers

Paragraph 7:1–5

Jesus realized that the Jewish leaders wanted to kill him. He wanted to stay away from the public as much as possible. But it was almost time for the festival of Booths, celebrated annually in Jerusalem. His brothers encouraged him to attend.

7:1a

After this: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as After this begins a new event in the narrative. See the note on 2:12a, where the same phrase occurs. The phrase does not indicate whether the new story takes place soon after or long after the previous event. However, the festival of Booths (7:2) was about six months after the Passover (6:4). So the events in chapter 7 probably took place about six months after the events in chapter 6. Introduce this new event in a way that is natural in your language. For example:

After that (Revised English Bible)

Jesus traveled throughout Galilee: Jesus walked around Galilee, visiting and teaching people and staying in various towns and villages. Here is another way to translate this clause:

Jesus traveled in Galilee (Good News Translation)

Galilee: Galilee is a region or province of Palestine. Translate it as you did in 1:43a, where it is first mentioned. For example:

the area/region called Galilee

7:1b

He did not want to travel in Judea: There is a textual issue in this clause.

(1) Some Greek manuscripts have a phrase that means “he did not want to.” For example:

He did not want to travel in Judea (Berean Standard Bible)

(English Standard Version, King James Version, New American Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, God’s Word, Good News Translation, New Century Version, New Living Translation (2004), Revised English Bible, New International Version, NET Bible Bible, Contemporary English Version, New American Bible, Revised Edition)

(2) Some Greek manuscripts have a phrase that means “he was not able to.” For example:

he could not travel round Judaea (New Jerusalem Bible)

(New Jerusalem Bible)

It is recommended that you follow option (1). It has the best manuscript support, and most English translations follow this option. The UBS Handbook Handbook Committee chose this reading and gave it an A rating, indicating it is almost certain.

The clause He did not want to travel in Judea indicates that Jesus wanted to avoid Judea. He did not want to travel or stay there. The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as travel means “walk around” or “go to different places.” Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

He wanted to stay out of Judea. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
he decided to avoid Judaea (Revised English Bible)
-or-
purposely staying away from Judea (New International Version)

Judea: Judea is the province or region of Palestine where Jerusalem is located. See the note on “the Judean countryside” at 3:22b. In some languages it is more natural to supply here the information that Judea was a region or area. For example:

He deliberately stayed away from ⌊the area called⌋ Judea.

7:1c

because: The conjunction because here introduces the reason Jesus stayed away from Judea.

the Jews: The phrase the Jews here refers to the Jewish religious leaders. These leaders mainly lived and taught in Jerusalem, in Judea. Refer to the notes on 2:18a and your translation of the Jews there.

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

the Jewish authorities (Good News Translation)
-or-
the Jewish leaders (NET Bible Bible)

were trying to kill Him: These Jewish leaders were looking for an excuse to punish Jesus with death. They were waiting for him to say or do something that would enable them to accuse him of a crime.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

were looking for a chance to kill him (Revised English Bible)
-or-
were waiting to take his life (New International Version)
-or-
wanted to kill him (NET Bible Bible)

to kill Him: The Jewish leaders did not want to kill Jesus themselves. They wanted the Roman authorities to order his execution (killing as punishment). So it may be natural to translate this phrase in one of these ways:

⌊to cause him⌋ to be killed/executed
-or-

⌊to persuade the authorities⌋ to punish him with death

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